Author Archives: smellincoffee

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About smellincoffee

Citizen, librarian, reader with a boundless wonder for the world and a curiosity about all the beings inside it.

Kingdoms of Gold, Kingdoms of Jade

Posted on April 18, 2009 by smellincoffee

Kingdoms of Gold, Kingdoms of Jade: the Americas Before Columbus© 1991 Brian M. Fagan240 pages, including 180 photographs set into the text I’ve had a fascination with the Aztecs for most of my life, since I first saw pictures in … Continue reading →

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Shattered Mirror

Posted on April 17, 2009 by smellincoffee

Shattered Mirror© 2001 Amelia Atwater-Rhodes227 pages Given the current Twilight mania, I am just a touch self-conscious about reading a vampire novel written for young adults. Back in high school I read Atwater-Rhodes’ In the Forests of the Night, and … Continue reading →

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Persian Fire

Posted on April 16, 2009 by smellincoffee

Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West© 2005 Tom Holland418 pages After reading Holland’s Rubicon, blogger ResoluteReader recommended that I read Persian Fire as well. I have an interest in the various Persian and Babylonian … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (13-4)

Posted on April 13, 2009 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: Gang Leader for a Day, Sudhir Venkatesh Arms of Nemesis, Steven Saylor The Universe in a Single Atom, Tenzin Gyatso This week’s reading started off on a high note, with Sudhir Venkatesh’s Gang Leader for a Day, … Continue reading →

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The Universe in a Single Atom

Posted on April 13, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Universe in a Single Atom: the Convergence of Science and Spirituality© 2005 Tenzin Gyatso224 pages This week marked the first time that I read something by the Dalai Lama that was not concerned primarily with ethics. The book begins … Continue reading →

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Arms of Nemesis

Posted on April 12, 2009 by smellincoffee

Arms of Nemesis: A Mystery of Ancient Rome© 1992 Steven Saylor318 pages Two weeks ago I read Roman Blood, a mystery novel set in late-Republican Rome. It was the first in the series Roma sub Rosa, and Arms of Nemesis … Continue reading →

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Gang Leader for a Day

Posted on April 8, 2009 by smellincoffee

Gang Leader for a Day: a Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets© 2008 Sudhir Venkatesh302 pages One of my ways to find reading related to my interests is to visit Amazon and search for books I have read before and … Continue reading →

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This Week at the Library (6/4)

Posted on April 6, 2009 by smellincoffee

Books this Update: Through a Window, Jane Goodall The Book that Changed My Life, ed. Roxanne J. Coady The Great Warming, Brian Fagan The Ghost, Robert Harris The Words of Martin Luther King, ed. Coretta Scott King Four out of … Continue reading →

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The Words of Martin Luther King Jr.

Posted on April 6, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Words of Martin Luther King Jr.© 1983, edited by Coretta Scott King112 pages I had intended to read a book on Martin Luther King Jr. back in January near his birthday, but the requested book never arrived. After watching … Continue reading →

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The Ghost

Posted on April 5, 2009 by smellincoffee

The Ghost: a Novel© 2007 Robert Harris412 pages I know the Internet is the stuff a paranoiac’s dreams are made of. I know it parcels up everything — Lee Harvey Oswald, Princess Diana, Opus Dei, AL Qaeda, Israel, M16, crop … Continue reading →

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